The last couple of weeks have been memorable for two young Memphians. After all, they got to make their Broadway debut.

Grace Martin and Spencer Germany went to New York City earlier this month having earned the trip for winning the Orpheum's High School Musical Theatre Awards in May.

It wasn't just a sightseeing trip. They were in a national competition at the Jimmy Awards held at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway.

The New York event is part of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards program which includes 30 programs from across the country, including the one sponsored by the Orpheum.

The local event last month brought in 33 participating schools from the Mid-South who had staged musicals in the past year. Awards, much like the Tony Awards, were handed out in several categories. Martin and Germany won in the lead actress and lead actor categories. Martin, who just graduated from St. Agnes Academy, won for her portrayal of Eve/Mama Noah in 'Children of Eden.' She'll attend Texas Christian University this fall. Germany will be a senior at Christian Brothers High School and won for his turn as Emmett in 'Legally Blonde,' performed at the Hutchison School.

This week, the two thespians and another 50 performers from around the country wrapped up 10 intense days of working with vocal coaches and choreographers at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Monday night, the all performed their show at the Minskoff, earning applause and words of encouragement from the audience, which included composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

'They spend days in rehearsal,' says Lindsay Krosnes, assistant director of education and community programs at the Orpheum. 'The greatest part is meeting fellow students with the same passion and love for musical theater and who are equally talented. It's a great week of energy and excitement and being pushed by their peers and rising to the challenges.'

On Your Toes

Ballet Memphis has announced its 30th anniversary season with a blend of fresh new works and the return of classic favorites.

The season starts, as it did last year, with a show at the Memphis Botanic Garden. This one-time performance on Sept. 10 is of Steven McMahon's 'Carnival of the Animals' and Trey McIntyre's 'In Dreams.'

New works by McMahon, company dancer Julie Marie Niekrasz and Mark Godden take a look into the future with 'Next Steps' at Playhouse on the Square Oct. 15-23.

'Nutcracker' is back, of course, with more than 100 dancers, vocalists, musicians and children going all out. It's at the Orpheum from Dec. 9-11.

Earlier this year, Ballet Memphis presented commissioned works in 'Places,' and next up is the second of the series, 'Places Beyond.' Works by McMahon, Godden and Uri Sands will be featured in the program that runs Feb. 17-19, 2017.

Closing the regular season is 'Wizard of Oz' at the Orpheum, a version by McMahon that was first presented in 2007. It will run April 8-9.

Coming to Opera Memphis

Opera Memphis has set its season as well, which begins in September with its popular 30 Days of Opera where something operatic will happen in town every day, featuring what the company calls 'Figaro Season 1: The Barber of Seville' that will be presented in episodes and 'full binge-watch' events throughout the month.

Its two major productions, both at the Germantown Performing Arts Center, are certified crowd pleasers. Mozart's 'Le Nozze di Figaro' will be staged Nov. 4 and 5 at the Germantown Performing Arts Center while Gilbert & Sullivan's 'The Pirates of Penzance' will be performed Feb. 17-19, 2017 at GPAC

The Midtown Opera Festival runs March 31 to April 9, 2017. It will offer multiple performances of three short, contemporary American works: 'Later the Same Evening' by composer John Musto with libretto by Mark Campbell, 'Three Decembers' by composer Jake Heggie with libretto by Gene Scheer and 'Blue Viola' by composer Peter Hilliard with libretto by Matt Boresi. As in the past, there will be a variety of other artistic presentations from other arts organizations throughout the festival.

Ride the Tide

There's a terrific play that closes this weekend at Theatreworks and it certainly deserves a wider audience than it's been getting.

'The Outgoing Tide,' by Bruce Graham and ably directed by Sam Weakley, tackles a subject that's been spotlighted in the news this week with the death of University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt. She was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's in 2011 and her family, like so many others, had to deal with this particularly difficult disease.

In 'Outgoing Tide,' an elderly couple and their son are facing the reality of mental decline as the father, Gunner, experiences continuing episodes of confusion. He is lucid enough to see what's happening to him and has decided on a plan to deal with it. His wife, Peg, wants them to move to a facility that can care for both of them. Neither likes the other's idea. Meanwhile, son Jack is navigating his own family issues and can't bring himself to choose sides.

Graham's script is solid if not deep. There's excellent dialogue and quite a bit of dark humor to keep it engaging in the midst of the tough subject matter.

The real allure of this production, however, is the performance of real-life married couple Jim and Jo Lynne Palmer. These two seasoned actors are assured and natural down to the last detail. Jim Palmer's Gunner fills the room, which amplifies his charm and his irksomeness. Jo Lynne Palmer's Peg is walking a tightrope, trying to make everyone happy. There is a flashback scene of a moment when they were a young couple and Jo Lynne beautifully morphs from the aging Peg to a shy girl freshly in love and full of possibilities. They are both electrifying.

Marques Brown's Jack is the adult still cowed by his parents. He's visiting because his father insisted, but he doesn't want to be there and, unfortunately, the bland character can't match the impact of his parents.

There are two performances remaining. At last Saturday's show, there weren't half a dozen people in the audience. This production, staged by the new Cloud9 Theatre Company, is a gem and deserves much better.